Tag Archives: Environment

By Eric Holthaus – If global CO2 peaks in 2013—that is, sometime in the next week or so—followed by drastic reductions, we’re still locked in to climate change of 1°C or so until about 2100. If we delay this peak until 2030 (the green line in the chart on the right above), Hansen projects extensive climate-change impacts will continue for a further two centuries. If we delay until 2050 (the red line), dangerous climate change will be locked in until past the year 3000.

Queens Museum of Art | The Relief Map of the New York City Water Supply System
(Photo credit: Chris Devers)

R&D – Instead of creating large amounts of power in one place—from large dams or even small turbines in water treatment plants—there’s value now in making tiny amounts of electricity anywhere there is a water source, from streams to water faucets.

By Chris Reiter – The strategy was hatched six years ago, when executives at the luxury automaker concluded that increased environmental awareness would likely prompt tougher emissions regulations for autos. “Looking forward to 2020, we saw threats to our business model,” says Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner. BMW concluded it needed a viable electric vehicle to meet demand from the growing ranks of city dwellers—and to offset the emissions of its gasoline-powered large sedans.

By Mary Pipher – Our denial is understandable. Our species is not equipped to respond to the threats posed by global warming. Humans are built to find food and shelter, reproduce, and enjoy each other. We are genetically programmed to react to threats by fleeing or fighting, and at first, our environmental crisis does not seem to allow us to do either.

We’re better at dealing with problems that are concrete, close-at-hand, familiar and require skills and tools that we already possess. Our global storm is invisible, unprecedented, drawn out, and caused by all of us. We have Paleolithic arousal systems, Neolithic brains, medieval institutions and 21st century technology—not a good mix for solving our climate problems. more> http://tinyurl.com/q38d4dd

By David L. Chandler – The system uses a solution of amines, injected at the top of an absorption column in which the effluent gases are rising from below. The amines bind with carbon dioxide in the emissions stream and are collected in liquid form at the bottom of the column. Then, they are processed electrochemically, using a metal electrode to force the release of the carbon dioxide; the original amine molecules are then regenerated and reused.

As with the conventional thermal-amine scrubber systems, this technology should be capable of removing 90% of carbon dioxide from a plant’s emissions, the researchers say. But while the conventional carbon dioxide-capture process uses about 40% of a plant’s power output, the new system would consume only about 25% of the power, making it more attractive. more> http://tinyurl.com/otvsb4y

By Seth Borenstein – A special panel of scientists convened by the government issued Friday (Jan 11) a 1,146-page draft report that details in dozens of ways how climate change is already disrupting the health, homes and other facets of daily American life. It warns that those disruptions will increase in the future.

“Climate change affects everything that you do,” said report co-author Susan Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. “It affects where you live, where you work and where you play and the infrastructure that you need to do all these things. It’s more than just the polar bears.” more> http://tinyurl.com/ckgn2hp